The bitter with the sweet

Winter salads have come a long way

Two popular salads at Boulder's Wild Standard are a pomegranate, date and butternut squash salad, left, and a chef's salad with eggs mimosa, bacon and hearty greens. (Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer)

A salad with roasted Brussels sprouts also could be made with other roasted vegetables such as cauliflower. (Cindy Sutter / Staff Photo)

There was a time not so many years ago when eating winter vegetables seemed a dreary chore once the Thanksgiving winter squash-a-rama was over.

Perhaps the change came when kale, once a workmanlike understudy on diner plates, moved up to the big time to star as a salad ingredient. Then, Brussels sprouts, once considered akin to child abuse when served on the family table, were "discovered" like some some holiday starlet.

Now these veggies, not to mention comedic punch lines such as rutabagas are seen up and down menus, from fine dining establishments to casual eateries. It's not that the vegetables have changed — although now they're much more likely to be fresh and grown closer by — it's that a new crop of chefs committed to seasonal eating have turned up the creativity. And for those who like big flavors in winter, the salad turns out to be a perfect palette from which to paint. Sharp, even bitter, assertive flavors such as those in greens, earthy roots from which sweetness can be teased out and straight up sweet stuff like winter squash.

The cooking methods favored in winter — roasting and braising — also support winter produce, according to Derek Baril, executive chef at Wild Standard in Boulder. He likes to roast butternut squash for salads.

"Slow roasting gets the sugars to caramelize," he says. "The flavors for winter are molasses and maple syrup. That's the direction I like to go.

Winter also brings the perfect foil to that sweetness: citrus. Baril makes a salad at Wild Standard with sweet squash, as well as dates and pomegranates, but counters and brightens the sweetness by way of an orange vinaigrette with ginger and rice vinegar.

Smoky, salty bacon plays well with winter ingredients, both sweet and sharp. At Wild Standard, it makes nice with hearty greens dressed with a champagne Dijon vinegar and finely grated eggs.

Christine Ruch, chef-owner of Fresh Thymes Eatery in Boulder, says the seasons bring not only a change in vegetables but also a shift in herbs.

No longer do basil, mint, cilantro and parsley rein, she says.

"We change in fall and winter to rosemary, thyme and sage, some of the earthier herbs."

She adds that as people make more of a commitment to eating seasonally, they begin to crave the things that nature makes available. Chefs have responded, she says.

"We're developing a whole new mini-cuisine around those earthy flavors."

From a chef's standpoint, vegetables such as turnips, bitter greens and Brussels sprouts are exciting because they are strong enough to pair with bold contrasts.

Ruch, for example, uses smoked almonds and a honey mustard dressing in the restaurant's slaw made of Brussels sprouts and kale. Bacon adds body and depth to a jam made with cultured butternut squash that is served on peppery arugula.

And so it is, with shredded Brussels sprouts, kale and red cabbage — stars on every dietitian's list of things you should be eating. But these veggies, sharp and, some would say, challenging, are balanced by crunchy apples and halved grapes that add a sweet pop. Not to mention a vinaigrette made with Bragg's apple cider vinegar and apple juice that's like a field trip to the apple orchard.

"It's crunchy and fresh," Smith says.

Wild Standard's Pomegranate Date Salad

For the salad:

Organic arugula

¼ cup dates

1 pomegranate

1 butternut squash (cubed)

Olive oil to taste

Salt to taste

½ cup walnuts, toasted

For the orange ginger vinaigrette:

1 teaspoon orange zest

Juice from ½ large orange

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

Sea salt to taste

¼ cup GMO-free sunflower oil

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees, cube butternut squash and toss with olive oil and salt to taste. Roast for 20 minutes until tender. Fill a medium-sized bowl with cold water, slice pomegranate in half. Tap one half with a heavy duty spoon so the seeds fall out. The seeds will sink and the non-edible parts will float.

Directions: In a large saute pan, cook the bacon over medium heat. Once the fat is starting to render, but before the bacon is entirely cooked, add the onions.

Cook both on low heat until bacon is crisp and onions are caramelized.

Add the currants and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the sugar and vinegar and stir, cooking until the vinegar is reduced and the mixture is sticky. Remove from heat and add the cultured squash.

Season to taste with salt, if needed.

Spread arugula on a plate and top with jam. The jam also may be used to top pizza with goat cheese or as a condiment alongside roast chicken or pork.

To make a cultured squash quick pickle: Chop one butternut squash into small dice. Soak in a salt water brine for 3-4 hours or overnight. Remove from water and use in the recipe.

To make cultured butternut squash (adapted from "Fermented Vegetables" by Kirsten Shockey):

Wash 1 butternut squash and peel with peel with vegetable peeler; reserve peels. Cut the squash into a small dice.

Place squash into a bowl and sprinkle generously with sea salt. Toss to coat. Allow to sit for about an hour, stirring occasionally until you notice juices accumulating in the bottom of the bowl.

Pack the squash into a canning jar and pour the accumulated water over the squash. Using your fist, or a wooden dowel, press firmly on the squash inside the jar until the juices come over the top of the squash. If your squash is older, it might not accumulate as much juice. In that case, just top with filtered water.

Place the reserved peels over the top of the squash and brine and weigh them down with a plastic baggie filled with water, assuring that all the squash is fully submerged below the brine.

Place in a cool dark place for 3-5 days. Taste. You want your squash to still be somewhat firm to the bite and salty — but not mushy.

Once your squash is perfect, remove from brine to stop the fermentation process and refrigerate indefinitely.

Directions: For the apple cider vinaigrette: Place all ingredients other than the oil in a blender. Puree those ingredients then slowly add the olive oil while the blender is running. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Place all salad ingredients in a bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Toss with vinaigrette until lightly coated. (You will have extra dressing.)

Directions: Cut off ends of Brussels sprouts and cut into quarters. Brush baking sheet with olive oil and place Brussels sprouts with one cut side down. Brush more oil over the top and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 degree oven, turning midway, till done. Some edges should be browned.

In the meantime, cut two blood oranges into supremes. To do so: Slice off ends with sharp, serrated knife. Stand orange on end and cut off all the peel and pith. Over a bowl, cut between segments to extract supremes, letting juice drip into bowl. Set aside. Squeeze remaining orange over bowl and remove any seeds. Add an equal part of olive oil. If you don't think you have enough to dress the salad, squeeze another orange and add more oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and whisk.

To assemble, place sprouts and onion on a platter. Put blood oranges around the edge. (They stain.)

Drizzle blood orange vinaigrette over. Add persimmon wedges and sprinkle with salted pistachios — enough to get one in every bite.

Directions: For the honey mustard dressing: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. You will have leftover dressing. Refrigerate and use as a marinade, dressing or sauce. Cut the stems from the Brussels sprouts. Using a food processor fitted with a shredding attachment, shred the Brussels sprouts and kale.

Place in a large bowl. Add the smoked almonds, dates and green onions. Toss with dressing to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

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